Let’s be honest: there’s ultimately just one reason Realtors keep copies of their records once a transaction has closed. It’s not because they’re nostalgic, pack rats, or simply too busy to shred or toss old files. Realtors keep their notes and records – ideally, for six years — in case they’re sued. Then, all those contemporaneous notes and...Read More
What Realtors Routinely Get Wrong; or, “How Come There’s No Such Thing as a 2-Season Porch??” If Realtors routinely confuse the various types of porches . . . I don’t know what chance a layman has. Perhaps that’s why, as a public service for Twin Cities Realtors, the local MLS has a post describing the...Read More
The Email No Prospective Buyer — or Their Agent — Wants to Get Your frustrated client finally found something they’re excited about. Everyone rearranges their schedule to see the property ASAP. Then, just before the showing, the Buyer’s agent receives an email from the listing agent (representing the Seller) that they’ve received an offer. #$@%!#!...Read More
Client to Agent: “What Would You Do?” “You break it, you own it.” –The Pottery Barn Rule “You make it, you own it” (translation: if you make a decision for a client . . . you are responsible for the consequences). –Real estate corollary, Ross Kaplan Whether it’s in the context of choosing a home, negotiating a deal,...Read More
The “I Decline to Initial” Buyer’s Initial Form: “Agency Relationships in Real Estate Transactions” Date signed by Buyer: June 22, 2017 Form: Purchase Agreement Date signed by Buyer: June 22, 2017 What’s wrong with this picture? It runs afoul of Minnesota Department of Commerce guidelines, which provide that prospective Buyers’ agents are supposed to discuss...Read More
Realtor Pet Peeves: When Less is More Once an editor, always an editor (in my case, heading the venerable St. Louis Park high school newspaper, the Echo, a long time ago). These days, the object of my ire is fellow Realtors and their (occasionally) less than efficient marketing verbiage. In that vein . . ....Read More
